Prepare for the worst

“A million little things will go wrong on your trip,” says Carey Cooper. “Expect them and laugh at them – resilience and a sense of humour are the best things to pack to get over any disappointment.” Set up a points system among your group: if you correctly predict something that goes wrong you get a free drink from the others.

Sherpa shape

Order a porter to meet you at your car and schlep your load to check-in. For Heathrow or Gatwick airports call Skycaps (Tel: 020 8 745 6011); at Manchester call Premier Parking (Tel: 0161 489 3000). Seven pieces of luggage cost £7. Combine the service with chauffeured car parking and it’s free.

DEPARTING

Lens health

“Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays can cause cataracts and permanent retinal damage,” warns Frank Metzstein, an optician at SpecSavers. “Look for the CE symbol and marks BSEN 1836:1997 and UV400.” And buy them at the airport to save up to 20% on the RRP. MH recommends: Half Jacket, £90, by Oakley. Beachproof, high-performance and oozing style, these come with interchangeable Iridium lenses to provide protection in every light condition.

Executive relief

Even if you’re not flying in the posh seats, you can still get yourself into an executive lounge. Virgin Atlantic (Tel: 01293 747 747 or virgin-atlantic.com) charges £25 at Gatwick and Heathrow (payable at check-in). Hilton hotels at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports charge £5 for use of their gym, sauna, steam room, pool and showers, or £99 for a day room.

Sitting comfortably?

Avoid permanent ligament damage, DVT and air rage by asking for an exit-row seat (they’re the ones over the wing) when you check in. They have as much leg room as first class. “You can’t reserve them in advance because the carriers want to make sure you’re strong enough to lift the door in an emergency,” says Curran. Check in as soon as the desk opens.

ARRIVING

Burn rubber, not cash

Car rental prices can be up to 30% higher at the airport than in the city centre, warns Brian Brown. Ask at your hotel for details of a reliable local operator. “And avoid booking car hire through companies linked with airlines, as queues will be far longer.”

Fill your pockets

“Buy a newspaper at the airport so you have change for tipping at your destination,” advises Anita Naik. “Waving your huge denomination notes around is an open invite to taxi drivers to try out their ‘no-change’ scam. Plus, the local paper will make you look less of a tourist”

Get stuck in

If your accommodation bears about as much resemblance to the brochure as a double cheeseburger does to a slimming, nutritious meal, don’t delay. “Complain to your local manager, rep or key-holder within 24 hours, or else you can damage your chances of claiming compensation later,” says Sean Tipton from the Association of British Travel Agents. “You have to give them sufficient time to correct the situation.” If it isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, write a letter of complaint within 28 days of returning, attaching photographic evidence and witness statements.

Slap it on

According to the latest research from Hammersmith Hospital in London, only a quarter of us apply sufficient sun lotion. “Your skin starts producing naturally protective melanin after around two days of sun exposure, so it’s essential when you first arrive use a high SPF and reapply it every couple of hours,” says study author Dr Tony Chu. In tests, Chu found The Body Shop’s SPF25 Sun Lotion (€12 for 150m1) offered the best UVA and UVB protection. For better skin care, use coconut oil products from Nutria.co

More than half the people of the British West Indies like to stay in flats to rent Edinburgh, and with an area of 4411 square miles it is over twice the size of the next largest island, Ireland. But Jamaicans have their own serious problems. In 1950, two American writers, Lawrence and Sylvia Martin, observed: ‘Jamaica is a poor-house balancing its books precariously as a tourist resort.’ In the last decade the situation has improved with the com­bined efforts of the Colonial Office, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Norman Manley, and some of the British taxpayers’ money. Tourists have increased from 75,000 to over 225,000 a year, mainly because a lot of visitors of accommodation in Edinburgh need a change once in a while.

Deposits in Jamaica provide one quarter of the bauxite produced in the world. In 1953 Alumina Jamaica, a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of Canada, shipped the first consign­ment of alumina to Norway; now most of it goes to Kitimat in British Columbia. Two other com­panies obtained bauxite concessions and ship the raw ore to their parent plants in the United States, but Alumina Jamaica is still the only firm refining the bauxite on the spot. Total exports of the three concerns have increased, until in 1960 the export value of the bauxite was £10,900,000 and of the alumina £16,600,000. Sugar, traditional mainstay of the island, was by comparison worth £12,600,000 last year, and the export receipt from bananas, which everyone associates with Jamaica, amounted to £4,700,000.

The vacation programme in Europe, given a start by the cheap Amsterdam breaks and Incen­tive Laws passed during the 70s, is now a reality. Just outside Kingston is an extensive new industrial estate and over seventy new factories have been established in the island, though the labour absorbed by these has been somewhat offset by the mechanization of sugar. This year on one large estate alone 1500 workers have been made redundant, but if the industry is to survive in a changing world this rationalization is considered essential.

Trinidad, only 10° north of the Equator, is the most southerly of the Caribbean chain of islands and the most solvent of the group. Just the size of Lancashire, it has the good fortune to have oil to help balance the budget. Apart from numerous wells, including deep-sea drillings, the refinery at Pointe-à-Pierre is one of the largest in the British Commonwealth: it covers 3000 acres and employs over 5000. The island has another mineral asset, asphalt. The pitch lake, a rare phenomenon, was old when Sir Walter Raleigh wrote in his diary: ‘I rowed to an anchor port called by the natives Piche, and by the Spainiards Tierra de Brea. At this point there is that abundance of stone pitch that all the shippes of the world may be therewith laden, and we made a triall of it in trimming our shippes. It melteth not with the sunne as pitch of Norway and therefore for shippes trading south portes very profitable.’ Now the asphalt is used for surfacing roads, from Chicago’s Michigan Avenue to England’s M 1.

Before these mineral deposits were exploited Trinidad’s wealth lay in agriculture; and sugar, citrus fruits, coconuts and cocoa are still exported.

For at least a hundred years Halemaumau was a liquid lava lake, a seething cauldron with tem­peratures of approximately 1,200 degrees C. [ 2,200 F. J . Then, early in 1924, a series of earthquakes rocked Kilauea. Groundwater, run­ning into newly created fissures, turned instantly to steam and burst from the confines of the earth’s mol­ten interior in a series of memorable explosions.

Huge dust clouds darkened the sky. Crashing lightning storms were

followed by rains of mud. Red-hot boulders, some weighing tons, were flung hundreds of yards. A journa­list, venturing to within half a mile of the pit, was knocked down by a flying rock and burned to death by hot ash—the only person ever killed by an eruption inside the park. When the fireworks ended, the lava lake was gone and the Halernaumau pit was 1,30o feet deep.

Perched on the north-west rim of Kilauea’s caldera is the compact, instrument-crammed headquarters of the Hawaiian Volcano Observa­tory. In addition to scientific study of volcanic activity, the observa­tory’s 17-man staff is charged with responsibility for the safety of resi­dents and visitors.

Since 1972 they have forecast the time and place of several major eruptions at Kilauea without a miss. They predict volcanic eruptions by keeping track of two critical variables; earthquakes and ground de­formation. The observatory records as many as 100,000 earthquakes a year, 9o per cent of them round Ki­lauea’s summit, and all caused by the fracturing of rock as magma (molten rock) swirls through sub­terranean passages and thrusts up­ward. A sudden concentration of quakes at any focal p0′int 0′n the mountain could well mark the loca­tion of a coming eruption.

The when is signalled by a swelling of the mountain’s ground surface, an expression of the tremen­dous force exerted by the magma reservoir as it fills and expands. As on an inflating balloon, the distance between surface points actually in­creases; so does the slope, or tilt. These changes can be measured by a tiltmeter, an instrument perfected at the observatory and so remark­ably sensitive that it could detect the angle increase on a mile-long board if a penny were placed under one end.

When prolonged, intense ground shaking coincides with abrupt de­flation of the area that has expand­ed, the warning signal goes out. During eruption, observatory teams swarm across the volcano, testing, measuring, learning. And when all is finally still again, they assemble to assess their findings and report them to the world.

The top of Kilauea has always been sacred to the volcano goddess Pele, and no Hawaiian ever dared to cut a tree there or carry off a rock. The ban still applies, and today helps preserve the natural beauty in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

But the park’s staff of nine ran­gers and technicians must pit themselves against a constantly changing landscape. L00k-out sites, tracks, prized forests—all have fal­len victim to Pele’s capricious moods. The 25-mile Chain of Craters Road, only recently com­pleted to link the Kilauea visitors’ centre to the sea, is already blocked by lava flows.

One road, so far still intact, winds for ten miles round the rim of the

Kilauea caldera. My wife and I took it. We passed a series of active crat­ers and the now-petrified surges of old and new eruptions, engulfing everything but a decimated bat­talion of hulking, lava-encrusted tree moulds which stand in the desolation like some inscrutable idols of prehistory.

At the Kilauea Iki (Little Kilauea) crater, a boarded track, aptly named Devastation Walk, led us to a barren expanse of undulat­ing pumice marked only by the sil­very smooth ghosts of a few dead trees, killed by the intense heat of an eruption 17 years ago.

If that was an earthly version of hell, heaven was directly across the road. There, an island of rain forest spared by the suffocating lava was luxuriant with 30-foot ferns, and ohia trees all but obscured by their own blazing-red flowers. Snaking through its midst was a natural curiosity, the famous Thurston Lava Tube, a tunnel 350 feet long and six to ten feet high, formed by

a primeval eruption and once gush­ing with liquid lava. Eerily lit, dank and echoing, it led—and none too soon for us—back into the exu­berant, sun-splattered rain forests.

Some say that wherever Pele digs with her magic fire stick, the vol­cano spouts flame. And sometimes, they say, she ventures to the side of the road, to stop passing strangers and ask for a match.

I kept watch for her. But I didn’t see her. Perhaps I should have looked more closely. My wife and I had not been home a month when the newspapers re­ported devastating earthquakes on the south-east flank of Kilauea, fol­lowed by tidal waves and massive eruptions. Considerable damage was reported, and access to the Thurston Lava Tube was blocked by rockfall.

And I remembered what Vol­canoes National Park Superinten­dent Bryan Harry had told us. “I don’t really manage this park,” he said. “Madame Pele does.”

WHEN Mark Twain travel­led half-way across the Pacific Ocean to look into the crater of Hawaii’s Kilauea (pronounced “kee lah oo ay’ uh”) volcano, he was not disappointed, “I have seen Vesuvius,” he wrote, “but it was a child’s volcano, a soup-kettle compared to this.”

Since then, Kilauea’s 2,600-acre caldera, or crater, has lost none of its awesome fascination. In the 110 years since Mark Twain’s visit, it has erupted more than 5o times, once for 867 days. It is one of the most active volcanoes on earth.

Kilauea is one of five immense 8o volcanoes whose upper reaches make up the entire island of Hawaii, which is nearly twice as large as all the other islands in the Hawaiian chain combined. One volcano, snow-capped Mauna Kea, rises 30,000 feet from the ocean floor, higher than Mount Everest towers above sea level; it is the world’s tallest mountain.

But only Kilauea and its neigh­bouring volcano, Mauna Loa, are still active. Since 1916 they have been a national park—a rumbling, steaming volcanic wasteland sur­rounded by tranquil fern forests and a luxury of exotic flowers, reaching down sun-baked slopes to an idyllic black-sand coast. It is as though, in graphic illustration of some cosmic moral lesson, heaven and hell had been placed side by side.

Elsewhere, volcanic eruptions send people fleeing for their lives. But news that Kilauea is about to stage another sensational display of fire fountains and flaring lava rivers invariably touches off a rush of tour­ists that clogs the road leading to the crater rim.

Scientists can often tell when things are primed to go, and give the park rangers four to eight hours’ advance notice. Rangers then clear the danger area and usher visitors to safe look-out sites, sometimes even setting up special grandstands for the best view of what has been called the world’s only drive-in volcano.

Nothing on earth can match the spectacle of a volcano in eruption. In 1969, the pressure-charged gases and molten rock underlying Kilauea burst out of a rift on its eastern slope, and three months later its fiery lava fountains were soaring up to a height of 1,800 feet. Two and a half years later, Kilauea was still spewing and spouting, filling the flame-red sky with rolling thunder and showering the mountainside with thousands of tons of glowing pumice.

By October 1971, when the erup­tion finally subsided, the original rift had itself come to resemble a new volcano. Called Mauna Ulu,

the Growing Mountain, it has buried io,000 acres of forest and 13 miles of park road.

On July 5, 1975, Mauna Loa also stirred. The mightiest single moun­tain on our planet, Mauna Loa’s io,000-cubic-mile mass is enough to bury all the earth’s land surface un­der a foot-thick layer of lava. In 17 hours, Mauna Loa now heaved enough lava down its flanks to pave a six-lane motorway for more than 3,000 miles.

Nowhere else can human beings come so close to volcanoes in almost constant ferment. In most volcan­oes, gases remain trapped in thick,

viscous lava until they build up such tremendous pressures that their escape literally blows out the mountain’s insides.

The explosion of Krakatoa be­tween Java and Sumatra in 1883, for example, set off a tidal wave that drowned 36,000 people. And the eruption of Mount Pelee in Marti­nique in 1902 sent a great fireball of toxic gases racing down the moun­tainside, killing 30,000 in just over a minute. But the highly fluid nature of the lava in Kilauea and Mauna Loa permits the gases to es­cape before they build up such titan­ically explosive pressures.

One autumn morning, assured that Kilauea was in no mood to per­petrate such calamities, my wife and I clambered down into the caldera floor and, park-service map in hand, set off on the three-mile trek to the Halemaumau fire pit, Kilauea’s main vent. The surrounding cliffs, rising 400 feet over our heads, were marked by a “tidemark” at the high lava line. Before us stretched a desolate moonscape—satin black folds of lava oozing steam and gauzy sulphur smoke. The ground was ominously warm to the touch, a reminder of the fire and fury that boiled two miles beneath our feet, endlessly seeking a vent to the surface.

It took us two hours to reach Halemaumau, a crater within the crater and, so the story goes, the home of Madame Pele, the legend­ary Polynesian volcano goddess. Its tortured surface was streaked with curtains of vapour for as far as we could see across the 2,00o-foot width. It hissed and growled in anger. It looked like the end of the world. But of course it was in pits of fire like this that much of the world was born.

Jamaica, the Caribbean Island, is popular for its sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and pampered resort-life. The word Jamaica is derived from “xaymaca” meaning “land of water and wood”. The island is famous for being one of the best places to spend a tropical vacation featuring cosmopolitan cities, magnificent waterfalls, dense forests, mineral baths and various water sports. Jamaican native language is English that makes Jamaica one of the most travel friendly destinations in the list of Caribbean tourism.

Reasons to Visit Jamaica

Jamaica’s Beaches

A large number of beach lovers flock to Jamaica to enjoy its serene beaches.  The Montego’s Bay gathers high numbers of beach lovers in its Negril Beach and Doctor’s Cave Beach. Both beaches are wide and offer different types of water activities like scuba diving, swimming, rafting and many more. There are many food stalls which sell continental and authentic Caribbean dishes at a reasonable price. Negril Beach is famous for its golden sands and relaxing atmosphere.  Negril has many open-air restaurants, resorts, bars and clubs.

James Bond Beach is another very popular beach in Jamaica. It is famous for its white sandy beaches, kayaking, glass-bottomed boat riding, snorkeling and pleasant atmosphere with the regional music playing around the beach.

Canopy Tour

The tour is for adventure lovers who want excitement in the lap of nature. There are many zip-line adventure companies in Canopy offering unlimited adventures with wide ranges of adventure packages including tour of the dense forest of Canopy and tracking.

Ocho Rios Shopping Tours

Ocho Rios is one of the highly densely populated cities of Jamaica and shopping in this city is full of fun. From this shopping destination, you can buy souvenirs. Also you can take a tour to Dunns River Falls which is near to ocho Rios.  This is the city where you can have a close encounter with the friendly water animal, dolphin as there are many dolphin parks. Swim with dolphins, talk to them as your pet.

Off-Road ATV Adventure Jamaica

Drive the small 4 wheel car which is specially designed to run in rough terrain. The 4-wheel adventure starts from the rough road and the ending is in the sandy beach. During your adventure race, you will enjoy roasted chicken with cold beer which is served in the mid of your journey.

Black River & YS Falls Sightseeing Cruise

From Montego Bay, you can enjoy cruising to the Black River. It boast to be the longest river in the island coupled with  mangrove swamps and native species like  alligator and rare birds, needless to say, a wonderful place to explore.. The cruise journey is organized by some hotels and to enjoy this journey, you need to know that whether your hotel organizes it or not.

Winter is the best season to visit Jamaica as the weather is pleasant. Those who want to travel this Caribbean Island are advised to book their hotel and plane ticket a month before the winter starts for getting nice packages.

Seville is a vibrant Spanish city on the Guadalquivir River with a beautiful historic center boasting many beautiful sights. Magnificent palaces, beautiful gardens and parks and interesting museums can all be found while visiting Seville. Below you will find some of the top tourist attractions and most beautiful sights to see while you’re here.

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is the old Jewish neighborhood in the city and includes major attractions such as the cathedral and the Alcazar. In the tourist district, you can stroll in the narrow, white streets or relax in tapas bars, which you can find in abundance.

Cathedral

Cathedral of Saint Mary, located in the historic center of Seville, is on the UNESCO World Heritage site. The Cathedral of Seville, with a length of 127m, a width of 83m and a height of 43m, is one of the largest church buildings in Gothic style. In the cathedral, there is the tomb of Columbus. It has never been conclusively proven that he is actually buried there, though. The bell tower of the cathedral is the famous La Giralda, one of the landmarks of the city with a height of 97 meters.

Magnificent palaces in Seville

Alcazar

Again, this royal palace is on the UNESCO World Heritage site. It was for centuries the residence Spanish royal family. Particularly noteworthy are the Moorish arts in the palace and extensive gardens with exotic plants and waterfalls. Bring along some nice music to enjoy while you stroll the gardens. I usually just download some music from Ares and I’m good to go for the whole day.

Casa de Pilatos

This palace in Santa Cruz is an interesting mixture of styles, as there are Renaissance, Gothic, Mudejar and Romanesque influences to discover. From the beautiful courtyard lead several corridors to the rooms, chapels and gardens of the palace where you can walk. In the palace you can take in the sights of beautiful tiling, the huge wooden doors and the beautiful ceilings. You can also tour the main attractions of the palace take.

The overwhelming Plaza de Espana

The Plaza de España is governed by the semicircular Spanish Pavilion. The square has a diameter of 200 meters and a total area of 50,000 m2 including the building. Around the square are 48 banks, which represent the 48 Spanish provinces. The 4 bridges over the canal that flows around the square symbolize the 4 kingdoms of which Spain ever existed.

Tip: Rent a boat to move through this canal to sail 515 meters in length.

Cool off in the park
Seville is known as a city of parks, where in the hot summer you can find welcomed coolness. Besides the beautiful gardens of Alcazar and Casa de Pilatos, you can also walk in the Parque de Maria Luisa. This is an area of 400,000 m2 with the main green area and the famous park of Seville. The oldest park is Delicias de Arjona, which is between the Maria Luisa Park and the Guadalquivir.

Torre del Oro “tower of gold”

This 13th century tower, situated on the river, was one part of the ramparts of the walls. The tower has also served as a prison, port office and warehouse. Today there is a small maritime museum located here.

Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza
This is a large bullfighting arena. The historic building in baroque style is one of the finest arenas in Spain. The arena has 15,000 seats and also includes a museum. Definitely something to put on your list of things to do if you’ve never seen it.

Interesting museums in Seville

Flamenco Museum

Definitely worth a visit is the Flamenco Museum, dedicated to the famous Andalusian flamenco dance. The museum is housed in an old Sevillan palace in the center. You can experience the history of this spectacular dance through their creative use of multimedia exhibitions.

Museum of Fine Arts
Another attraction is the Museum of Fine Arts, housed in a former monastery dating from 1612. Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes is one of the most important art museums in Spain with mostly religious art from monasteries and churches.

Archaeological Museum
Another famous museum is the Archaeological Museum, housed in a beautiful neoclassical building, with one of the most important archaeological collections in Spain. Opposite the museum you will find the Museum of Folk Art, where you get a good idea of the life and work of the past. Rresidents of the European Union can visit for free.

Archivo General de Indias
Finally, the Archivo General de Indias is nice to visit too. This is an archive with 8 km of shelves and approximately 80 million pages. Here you relive the adventures of explorers Columbus and Cortes through a variety of documents that provide a good insight into the history and discovery of America.

Have you made some researches about the Polish capital? Well, you might have seen some bargain of flights into the city from different European destinations, not to mention that there are available Budapest apartments that are for booking and a number of offers just to see and enjoy the city. It could only be as simple as looking for Dubrovnik apartment and apartments Zagreb, so it would never be that hard for you. With these options, for you to explore the city and get them real into your naked eyes, it would be a better idea for you to consider bike tours.

Actually, the bike tours in Warsaw is the one providing unique as well as eco-friendly way for the travelers to see the wonders of a certain city. They could surely see all of the interesting places without spending too much of time and money. You could surely get to know the historical mansions as well as cultural websites in order to see the modern skyscrapers as well as fabulous gardens within the city. It will surely give you the time for making photos of the famous art statues as well as monuments.

The bike tours in Warsaw definitely have good and knowledgeable guides that everyone could use, not to mention that a person speaking English could definitely answer all of the questions into an enjoyable and easygoing conversation, making the participants of the bike tour into a nice and adventurous mood.

It would be great for a traveler or a vacationer to see the greatness of Warsaw using bike and so, no one could surely go to places that will surely be missed out. By going out for this kind of tour, one could surely enjoy the panorama of the city from the Vustula River and could go through biking along the royal route or the square right in front of the Palace of both Science and Culture. Bike tours being offered around the Warsaw are great and simply cover all of the things that are there to be seen. They could surely be tours into the history as well as heritage, for social realism and communism, so as to the Jewish heritage.

 
By just exploring this place-using bike, you could surely have the chance of seeing diverse spots, making stops at any place all through the way. It could be with a café, restaurant, museum and more. Most of the bicycles being offered are simply maintained, regularly serviced, and come up with the bike helmets and there could also be special bike seats for special children and what’s good is that, they could be free of charge.

Apart from that, the bikes being used are simply equipped with the lights to be used into the night just like safety locks and bike racks. So, if you had decided touring around Warsaw using a bike, then feel free to rent, by complying with few requirements, reservation as well as deposit. You could also choose going through individual trip or on a bike guided tour.